Suraaj Mukhi

During the Rakhi making workshop, I told Santosh that I would like to make a Rakhi too. One girl named Payal sprung into action and hurried inside to get the threads and other equipments needed. Listening to the conversation between Santosh and the other girls, Payal is a lively character in this youth center, very quick at picking up new things (she was doing crochet before getting up and later brought out a cross stitch of a rose that she made and not to mention the Rakhis!).

She helped me make the base string of the Rakhi by hooking one end of a thread on her big toe and her second finger and wrapping the thread round and round. She then gave one side of the bundle to Santosh and held the other side herself. Santosh started twisting the string in one direction and Payal in the opposite direction. After a while, the bundle of strings was tightened up to a twisted bundle and surprisingly the twists remained even after they let go of their fingers.



Payal then started making the main decoration on the Rakhi. She started it off but let me brush the fringes with a toothbrush and glue the center ornament to finish it off. The completed Rakhi was beautiful. I placed the Rakhi on the carpet and took a picture of it. It’s like a flower I said. My supervisor translated it into Hindi. Payal then said “Suraaj Muki!” I recognized “suraaj” which means sun. Oh! Sunflower? I asked. They all nodded and smiled.


While I was talking to the other girls, Payal started to make another green Rakhi and then another one with beads. Santosh asked me which one I wanted and I pointed out I want the first one which I made. I looked at Payal and she seemed a little disappointed that I didn’t pick her green one. She then offered to “package” the Rakhi since it was a gift. I watched her while she set on her task. Although I told her I only wanted the yellow one, she secretly found a plastic bag that was obviously too big for one Rakhi and placed all three Rakhis in it to see if they all fit. The packaging was done in a very simple way: with the backside of a poster paper, a plastic bag that originally contained the beads, and some staples. She looked at her finished product with satisfaction and hand it to me. When I told her it’s “bahut acha” (very nice) she smiled at me shyly.


After sitting there for the entire afternoon making Rakhis and doing crochet with the girls, I found out that what they were learning to make didn’t matter to them that much. It was the talks and the laughter and the exchange of kindness that took place during these workshops, which gave them a temporary break from their mundane routine of school, house chores and work in the fields, that made them keep on coming back.